Homework Questions #3:
Due: Friday, March 14
1. Extreme extratropical cyclones (ECs) will develop along and follow the __________________
in midlatitudes during the _______________________ season(s) which is where and when the
_________________________ contrast in the atmosphere is the strongest.
2. Blizzards and ice storms (extreme ECs) are most common along the ____________________
Coast of __________________________________________.
3. Why are blizzards and ice storms most common in this region?
4. In a blizzard heavy snow combines with ____________________ to create reduced visibility.
___________________ is the other common dangerous blizzard component.
5. An East Coast blizzard is usually associated with an ________________________ jet stream
wave pattern.
6. Strong divergence at the tropopause results because this type of jet stream wave pattern
is associated with what two jet stream features?
7. A ____________________ jet streak configuration, which results in superimposition of
multiple (three) divergence areas is frequently present. (see case study, B 2 on p.9 of notes)
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8. Why does a blizzard have such strong winds?
9. Why does an EC located just off the East Coast and in the upper Great Plains (U.S.) have
stronger winds than similar ECs in other locations?
10. Blizzard conditions occur just to the __________________________ of the track of the
surface low pressure system (storm track).
11. _______________________________ lifting results in mountain and upslope blizzards in
the western U.S.
12. The main cause of lake-effect blizzards is that the lake water (at the surface) is much
warmer that the atmosphere aloft (steep environmental lapse rate), resulting in accelerated
upward motion. This is called __________________________________________________.
13. Heavy snow combines with ________________________________ to cause power outages
during a blizzard.
14. Can coastal flooding be a significant impact of a blizzard along the East Coast?
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15. Why is an East Coast blizzard likely to have a greater impact in the southern states that are
affected, even if there is a greater snowfall accumulation to the north? (see impacts during
superstorm, IV C, on p. 10)
16. Which of the following is not a common cause of blizzard fatalities: hypothermia (freezing
to death), traffic accidents, heart attacks during snow removal, suffocation in a giant snow
pile, drowning at sea?
17. Name three positive blizzard impacts.
18. A large outbreak of _________________________________ over the Gulf of Mexico caused
a massive release of _____________________________ into the atmosphere that resulted in
rapid development of the 1993 “Superstorm” in its early stages along the Gulf Coast.
19. _____________________________ is the type of precipitation that occurs during ice storms.
20. This type of precipitation occurs in situations where a layer of ________________________
overrides a thin layer of ________________________ near earth’s surface.
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21. Ice storms occur just to the north of _______________ and _____________________ fronts.
22. The critical atmospheric feature in causing an ice storm is ___________________________
________________________ which provides a continual supply of cold air near the surface.
23. In contrast to blizzards, the ECs associated with ice storms are much __________________.
As a result, the winds during ice storms are ___________________.
24. The main impact of ice storms are__________________________ which are caused by
__________________________ of the ice on power lines and trees.
25. What about the geographical location of Montreal resulted in it being so hard hit by the 1998
ice storm?
26. What about the weather for the weeks following the storm worsened the impact?
27. The north-south (meridional) temperature contrast will (has) ____________________ with
global warming. This will tend to ___________________ the jet stream which should result
in a ______________________ in the frequency and intensity of Extreme ECs.
28. In what direction has the EC storm track shifted, and is likely to continue to shift with
further global warming, over the past several decades?
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